Mitchell lifts Jazz past Thunder 102-95 to even series

Russell Knight |Friday, April 20, 2018

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"Just relentless" was Snyder's description of Favors, and that was especially true when he ripped away a rebound that led to Donovan Mitchell's drive for bucket that gave the Jazz a six-point lead late in the game. Russell Westbrook led OKC in scoring with 19 points. Paul George, who scored 36 points in Game 1, finished with 18 on 6-for-21 shooting.

Derrick Favors had a "podium game" for Utah pouring in 20 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.

"I expect these two, three days in between going to Utah, I should be back to 100", George said afterward. Mitchell finished 0 for 7 from 3-point range, but think about this: The rookie outscored the Westbrook-George-Anthony trio 13-2 in the fourth quarter. His point production was a career-high for the fourth-year player as he was simply unstoppable from the field, shooting a remarkable 55.8 percent in 2017-2018. That's inarguable, considering this is his first opportunity in the National Basketball Association playoffs.

With the series levelled at 1-1, the teams will head to Utah for games three and four.

Mitchell's status for the game was up in the air after he was suffering from left foot soreness after game one.

"I've got to keep applying pressuring, getting to the rim and even if I miss, as you saw on the boards, they were right there crashing and getting rebounds", he added. "Donovan, obviously, his aggressiveness on the offensive end fueled us there and the combination of those two things".

George then attacked and made a tough floater before Westbrook grabbed his own miss and found Carmelo Anthony for a second chance three-pointer.

"Just continuing to be aggressive was just my mindset", Mitchell said.

After the Jazz took a 7-point lead at half, the Thunder went on a 19-0 run in the third quarter to take a 10-point lead.

Mitchell ended up slicing OKC with fourth-quarter drives to the hoop, whether he was using screens, denying them or just using shear patience and hesitation moves. "I think if he was feeling something, he didn't show it, and he played through it".

The game was filled with back and fourth runs by both teams with the lead changing a dozen times which also included 10 ties. "Fourth quarter, we just didn't shoot the ball well". Coming in, everyone in the Thunder locker room knew this Jazz team was serious, and expected adversity in the series.

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